Improvement in straw-cutters



2 Shear-Sheet 1.

A. B. EARLE. Straw Cutter.

v Patented Feb. 24, 1852.

I 2 Sheds-Sheet 2. A. B. EARLE. Straw Cutter.

Patented Feb. 24, 1852;

much.

. ABSALOM B. EARLE, OF ONEONTA, NEW YORK.

iMPROVEMENT IN STRAW-CUTTERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 8,753, dated February 24, 1852.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ABSALOM B. EARLE, of

Oneonta, in the county of Otsego and State Vegetable Substances; and I do hereby de clare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of my said invention, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 represents a view in perspective of my vegetable-engine complete. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same; and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 are vertical longitudinal sections of the ma chine at different parts of its breadth.

My claims to this machine for the purposes of this patent are confined to the chopping apparatus, the knives of which have a peculiar action given to them,which is a compound of the punching or percussion and of the shearing cuts, and which is found greatly to increase their efficiency and the ease with which they Work, especially in cutting wet hay or straw, which it is well known can only be cut with great difiiculty with the knives in ordinary use unless they are newly sharpened with a very fine edge. The other apparatus which I have designed in connection with my cutting-knives to increase the general usefulness of the machine are capable of rasping, grinding, and pressing vegetable substances to increase their value as food for animals and for other purposes.

The several members of the apparatus are all secured to a strong frame A, portions of which are cased in to form hoppers for receiving the various substances to be acted upon and to constitute the framing which supports the interior mechanism of the machine.

The several acting members of the machine are all put in operation by means of a single driving-shaft B, which extends transversely through the casing, is supported in suitable boxes,.and is fitted at one extremity with a crank O, by means of which it may be conveniently operated by hand.

The apparatus for cutting or chopping straw, hay, and other substances, and for slicing roots, consistsof a double-acting chopping-lever acting in connection with two sets of feeding-troughs. These troughs D D are situated at the opposite sides of the machine. Their extremities a a. are faced with iron or steel to form stationary knives, against which the chopping-knives work. These knives b b are secured to the opposite arms of the leverbeam E, which is pivoted at its center to the end of the main frame. The knives to b are secured to the lever E in such a position that as they pass the stationary knives a a the cutting-edges of the two shall be presented to each other at an angle of about fifteen degrees. The ends of this knife-lever project beyond the feed-troughs and are struck alternately by revolving tappets. These tappets are secured to the faces of two wheels G, which are secured to the opposite ends of a shaft F. The latter passes transversely through the frame beneath the feed-troughs, is supported in suitable boxes, and is driven from the driving-shaft by means of a pair of cog-wheels c 0, contained within the case. The tappets upon the wheels are so arranged with respect to each other that those upon one Wheel are opposite the spaces upon the other, so that the tappets in their revolution act alternately to strike down the extremities of the lever-beamby a sudden blow, and when one extremity of the beam is depressed the other is correspondingly raised. The feedtroughs are each fitted with a pair of feed rollers 61 d. The lower roller of each pair projects upward through a slot in the bottom of its respective feed-trough, and its outer gudgeonis fitted with a ratchet-wheel e, which is caused to revolve and turn the roller by means of afinger f. The latter is pivoted to a lever g, which is alternately raised and allowed to drop by the action of pins 2', secured to the face of the adjacent tappetwheel G. These pins are in such positions with respect to the tappets that the roller is turned to force forward the straw lying upon it when the adjacent arm of the leverbeam and the chopping-knife secured thereto is'being moved upward by the action of the tappet upon the opposite tappet-wheel. The upper roll of each pair lies upon the lower, its journals are fitted into vertical slots in the sides of the trough, which permit the roller to rise and fall as the quantity of straw, &c., introduced into the trough is increased or di shelled corn.

minished. The sudden blow given to the end of the knife-lever by a tapp'et'causes the ad"- j acent knife to descend and chop into the s'ub-' denly as the acting knife descends; This part of the action of the knives is literally chopping; but as the edges of the knives on the lever cross the edges of'the station'ary -kni-ves at the mouths of the feed-troughs, like the blades of shears, at an angle ofv about-fifteen degrees, this introduces the shearing element and modifies the percussive action ofi'thecut; so as to convert it into what may-betermed a drawing-chop cut}? which -will ,,even if the cutting-edges are quite obtuse, sever with great facility such substances asmachinesof this kind are ordinarily-employedtoout.

The interior of the case is divided trans versely into three compartments by, means of suitable vertical partitions: ODGOfthGSB'OOHe tains the cornsheller, which consists of. a feed-spout, into which thecorniisfed, of the apparatus for stripping. the grain fromthecob, and of an apparatus for cleansing the an adjustable spring-top j, which .holdsxthe ears firmly while under the action of the shell: in g apparatus. The latter consistsofa wheel K, which is securedto'the shaftF, andiwhoseperiphery is studded withteetho 0, which draw the ear into the machine,and ofv series of teeth h, whichuare secured tOIhBn-faCQaOf the cog-wheel c and which act to tearthe grain from the ear. The shelled cornandth'e cobs fall upon an inclinedriddlekbeneath to which i a rapid reciprocating movement orshaking is imparted by means; of a tappet m andispning Z. The tappet m is secured to the.fac- ;of the .wheel K, and, acting upon a standard n,.se cured to the riddle, tends to" draw theelatterinward, while the spring l, acting, upon the outer extremity of the riddle,..forces it oute ward whenever the tappetin its movement passes the extremity, of its 6 standard. The riddle 7c is secured to a trough L, into which i the shelled corn passing through the-middle drops, while the cobs are delivered. at thej end- 11 of the riddle and the ,chafl and thel-ighter fragmentary portions-of the cob areiblowneotf by a current of air introduced into theitrough i below the riddle through-anorificep This; j current of air or blast.is-generatedibyafan M, which is situated in the middlecempante ment of the case and-'l is. driven; anbel-t, which encircles suitable pulleys- -secured,-respectively, to the driving shaft B-andto-thefan-shaft. Air is suppliedztoethe :famw ings a through suitable openings'r' in. the: partitions of the case, and the blastgeneratedzbysit;.is conducted by a pipe to the orifice i-il thei trough.

The grinding apparatus consists of a conical grinder O, which is secured to the shaft F The feed-spoutH is-fi tted with and revolves with it, and of an adjustable "stationary concave grinder P, which encircles the grinding-cone and can be moved along the shaft F to set its grinding-surface at a greater or less distance from that grinding- ,-c0ne :'-O'= inthe usual manner by means of a screw m. This grinding apparatus is surmounted by a hopper Q, into which the subistancesare. introduced and from which they pass into the grinding apparatus through an opening formed for the purpose in the concavei They are discharged when ground through a suitable spout 25, secured to the lower side of the concave.

itoothed or fluted rollers R S, one B of which is secured to the shaft .13 and revolves with it, {while the other-S is driven by the first one. These. fl-utedrollers extend across the compartment in which they revolve. In front of them is an inclined board T, forming with .thesides'of the compartment a hopper, into whichthe apples or other substances to be crushed are placed. As the rollers revolve, these substances are drawn in between them and are crushed by the indentation of the projections-orribs of onecylinder into the corresponding depressions or grooves of the other. The crushed substances are delivered atthehinder sides of the rollers and drop intoa. tub. or other receptacle placed beneath the .cylinders toreceive them.

I Theraspinggapparatus consists of a drum U, which is secured to theshaft F, and whose periphery isistudded. with teeth. This rasping cylinder issituated in a compartment W, adjoining, thecrushing-rollers, and it delivfersthe torn. or rasped substances into some suitable receptacle placed beneath.

1 Th'e-pressconsists of a stationary platen V, ,which forms the-lower part of the main frame, and of a movable platen, which is forced down- .ward-f or toward the stationary platen by imeansofza screw Y. The latter turns in a 'jnut v, secured in a cross-bar of themain frame,and isvguided by passing its shank {through the top of the machine. The head pf-thisscrew isfitted with a disk-plate Z, to which a cord to isfitted. This cord is passed over a pulley w, secured to a standard at one Len-dot the machine, and is attached to a ,weightbymeans of which theturning. of the screw; and consequently, the compression of the materials between the two platens, is continued asthey yield to the pressure. The upper face of this disk has a spiral ledge 19 rp'onait,roundv which the cord is passed in suchvmanner that as the screw turns under the action-of-the weight the cord leads from portions-of the spiral ledge successively more distant from the screw, bywhich means the length. of the lever upon which the weight acts-and consequently the force it exerts upon theserew isincreased. This graduation of ,fthe'pressur-e-isof importance in many cases where articles subjected to the press will not at first bear the full strain of the press, but- The crushing apparatus consists of two which as they are compressed will withstand a greater pressure.

The top B of the frame is surrounded by a raised rim 0 to prevent articles thrown upon it from rolling ofi. When the machine is used for cutting straw, the crank C is turned in a direction to impart a rotary motion to the shaft B in the direction indicated by the arrow f. The lever-beam E is thus caused to oscillate upon its center by the alternate action of the tappets upon its opposite extremities. The length of the stroke is limited by pins h, against which the ascending arm of the lever-beam strikes. When the machine is used for other purposes, one

of the pins h is drawn out, the lever-beam is turned into an upright position to bring its arms out of the range of the tappets, and the pin is again inserted to prevent the arms of the lever-bea1n from dropping within the range of the tappets.

For all other operations than cutting, the

shaft B is turned in the direction indicated by the arrow 70, and the several operations of corn-shelling, crushing, rasping, and grinding are effected, according as the substances are subjected to one or other of the apparatus above described.

What I claim in the foregoing as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The method of cutting vegetable substances by a combined chopping or percussive and shearing cut produced by means of stationary knives at the mouths of the feeding-troughs, moving knives carried on an oscillating 1ever, and revolving tappets which actuate the oscillating lever, as described.

In testimony whereof Ihave hereunto subscribed my name.

A. B. EARLE.

Witnesses:

P. H. WATSON, I. S. SMITH. 

